Zone prohibiting circuit



July 28, 1959 F. SCHMIDT ZONE PROHIBITING CIR CUIT Filed Aug. 19, 1953 INVE NTOR F'SCHMIDT ATT OR NEY i rates telephone systems, especially private branch'exchange systems, in which certain connections can only be established at authorization of the calling subscriber station.

Such arrangements are used-to permit only a limited number of stations in an exchange ,to establish certain connections such as exchange calls at greater distances, as, for instance, local andtollcalls.

installations known under the term of zone-prohibit- -ing devices consist generally of a selector-repeater,

which is set by impulses. delivered by the station. According to the blocked digits, relays are arranged at the contact bank of the selector-repeater, which in energized state prevent a connection. Stations authorized to make higher valued connections receive a distinguish ing mark from the beginning, which is transmitted to the prohibiting device, and which permits the removal of the blocking for certain digits. In this particular case the transmission of this marking is performed by current amplification, which is transmitted by the test wire from the station circuit to the succeeding selector stage. Consequently a repeated translation ofthismarking between different selector .stages is necessary until the zone-prohibiting device is reached, where either the startof the selector-repeater is preventedor the blocking efiectis removed.

This translation ,of the marking ofan authorizedstation requires considerable expenditure of switching devices and additional work, especially, if zone-prohibiting devices have to be installed :in existingexchanges. It would necessitate cutting into the circuit wiring of the test wires in the difierent selector stages.

This invention however provides a very simple solution of this problem, which, without changing the test wire in the different selector stages, permits the markingof stationsauthorized for certain connections. This .is attained in such away that, in case an authorized stationdials ablocked number, an ignition circuit containing glow-discharge lamps is established in which switching devices become effective and remove the blocking effect of the prohibiting device.

According to a further embodiment of this invention, glow-discharge lamps are assigned to the station wires of those stations which are authorized to remove the blocking effect.

A further embodiment provides that two glowdischarge lamps are simultaneously connected to the speaking wires. The common junction point of these lamps is connected to ground potential.

In this manner the marking is transmitted over the speaking wires to the zone-prohibiting device without influencing the test circuits of the selector stages.

The nature of this invention will be more easily understood from the following description of an embodiment represented in the accompanying circuit diagram. In this diagram only those portions of the circuit necessary to understand the invention are disclosed.

atent Patented July 23, 1959 locking circuit for the F-relay (II) in the zone prohibiting device ZV. As soon as ,the station user transmits his dial impulses, relay A will follow the impulses and will transfer them to the zone prohibiting device and to the exchange line. =Via contact aII relay I will :be operated in the zoneprohibiting device via ,battery plus, aII, 1, I, battery Relay I energizes an associating auxiliary relay 1 which is a slow-acting relay, .via battery plus, fill, 11 :battery minus. Upon the transmission ;of .the dial impulses effected bythe station user, relay 1 will .act according to the impulses.

Relay :1 however, will remain energized continually during the train .Qf-impulses owing to its time delay.

The contact 'V-I transfers .the impulses to relay W in the following circuit: battery plus,.i NI, fIV, rI, W (11), W61), battery minus. Contact wII' controls the rotary magnet B60 lot the discriminating selector which has three rotary wipers-or contacts arms dI, dII, and a'HI,

all vQpcratively connectedto the same shaft. The wipers all and till are {at-such {111311386 angle in relation to .each other than ,only one .wiper will be sweeping over .its

contacts at a given time; when' wiper :11 leaves contact 12 atthe vend of :its sweep, wiperdI-I Willbe on con- ;tact 0, ready .to startits sweep. This can 'be accomplished, for instance, by :having the two contact banks side-by-side andsubtending an'angle of '180, while the two wipers .are at 'l with respect to each other. :Wi-per dlII, however, is arranged .so that it sweeps over its contacts each time one of the other wipers sweeps over its contacts. can .be accomplished, for instance, .by ;having the contact bank subtend an angle of andihavingthe gwiper dIII in-two partsfat an angleof 180 withrespect to'eachother.

Contact wLenQr iZes relay -1V ,;which :is a slow-acting relay, .so that-during the'zcohsecutive .connectionof' the discriminatingsel,ector, .ground :is disconnected from .the rotary wipers d1 and gill :bymeans of the contacts-v andiso-that accordingly no ,relay .canpull up which is connectedto acontactwhichis just swept over bythe rotary wiper dl. To thec'ontacts of.the discriminating selector there are vswitched, .quite according .to therequirernents,-the relays M, F and S, .which either serve to release or to .block the connection for the dialled ,nurnbers.

lithe subscriber orstationuser dia1s.e.g..the number 00, a separatingm i flher =-for.initiat ing .a toll switching operation, .;i .-e. for -,establishing a long-distance call, then the contact arm dI, when the first digit 0 has been dialled, will be set to the tenth contact. In this case, at the end of the pulse train, V will release and relay M will be energized via battery plus, v dI, M(l), battery minus and will continue its energization via battery plus, .9111, fIII, mIII, M(II), battery minus. By means of contact m IV relay R be energized via battery plus, rotary wiper dIII of the discriminating selector, wIV, mIV, R(I), battery minus and will continue to hold itself via its own contact rIII. The wiper dIII, as explained above, operates at the dialling of the first dial number in an in-phase relation to the wiper all, and at the dialling of the second dial number in an in-phase relation to the wiper dII. Therefore, with wiper all on contact 10, wiper dlH will be on its contact 10. With the operation of relay R, contact rII completes an energizing circuit for relay W(I) via battery plus, dIII, rII, wIH, W(I), battery minus the relay W. The wiper d1 of the selector-repeater or discriminating selector has completed its full rotation,

whereas the wiper dll has attained the zero position and will now, when dialling the second digit 0, be controlled to the contact 10. At the end of the digit when V releases, relay S will be energized via battery plus, v dII, mI, S(I), battery minus. On account of this operation relay R will be energized in the following circuit: battery plus, slII, S(II), R(II), battery minus.

In this circuit relay S will remain energized. The contacts sI and SH disconnect the wires from the exchange line. The station user cannot conduct a conversation. The selector-repeater, as described hereinbefore, will be consecutively connected in a self-interrupting circuit and will return to zero position.

In order to provide the privileged subscribers with the possibility of dialling such numbers which are blocked to ordinary subscribers or normally unprivileged station users, glow lamps G1 and G2 are assigned to the lines of the privileged subscribers and are connected to ground. An ignition voltage is likewise simultaneously applied to the speaking wires by the zone-prohibiting device ZV. In order that the usually employed common local battery will sufiice, a condenser C will be charged in the nonoperating condition: battery plus, iV, C, z'IV, W3, battery minus.

After such a subscriber has seized the exchange repeater AUe, relay I will be energized in the zoneprohibiting device, in the manner described already hereinbefore. Contacts iIV and iV serve to disconnect the condenser from the source of current and to connect it in series with the local battery via a relay F to both the speaking wires which are connected through over the connecting devices: battery plus, G a-wire (IVW, IGW), 11, 1' W iIV, C, N, F(III), battery minus and battery plus, G b-wire (IVW, IGW), ilI, i W iIV, C, N, F(IH), battery minus.

The charge on condenser C is thus added to the voltage of the battery source and will present sufiicient voltage to light the glow lamps, so that relay F can operate. Owing to the fact that the current impulse is limited by contacts of relay I which is energized by relay I, the relay F will be held energized in a special circuit: Battery plus, v11, fII, F(l'.[), battery minus.

Hence the relay P will be energized directly at the beginning of the operation and prevents, by means of contact fIV, the selector-repeater from being set and, accordingly, the relays M and S from being energized. The subscriber is now enabled to perform his dialling to the exchange via the closed contacts s1 and slI and is thus able to dial a number which is normally blocked.

Iclaim:

1. A circuit arrangement for telephone systems, at which certain connections can only be established at authorization of the calling station, comprising a calling station, means for receiving dialled pulse trains from said calling station, an outgoing line, means for normally transferring said pulse trains to said outgoing line, means operated by predetermined ones of said pulse trains for blocking said transferring means to prevent the application of pulses to said outgoing line, switching means for rendering said blocking means inoperative, and means connected in parallel to the speaking wires of said calling station, it said station is authorized to make connections determined by said predetermined pulse trains, for operating said switching means when a call is initiated by said station.

2. A circuit arrangement, as defined in claim 1, in which the means for operating the switching means comprises a pair of glow discharge devices connected respectively between ground and the speaking wires of the calling station.

3. A circuit arrangement, as defined in claim 2, in which the means for operating the switching means further comprises a condenser, means for normally charging said condenser, a relay, a local battery having one terminal connected to ground, and means operated by the initiation of a call from the calling station for connecting said condenser in series with the other terminal of said local battery and said relay to the two speaking wires of said calling station.

4. A circuit arrangement, as defined in claim 3, in which the means for blocking the transferring means comprises a settable selector switch, and means controlled by the transferring means for setting said switch, and in which the switching means comprises a contact of the relay connected to said switch setting means and adapted to render said switch setting means inoperative when said relay is operated.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,567,240 Carpenter Dec. 29, 1925 1,804,776 Hague May 12, 1931 1,960,037 Williams et al. May 22, 1934 2,005,595 Roome et al. June 18, 1935 2,294,500 Hovland Sept. 1, 1942 2,519,867 Wicks Aug. 22, 1950 2,524,773 Deakin Oct. 10, 1950 2,544,944 Wicks q c a Mar. 13, 1951 

